


Eye of the Storm

by smollNerd



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Astraphobia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Explicit Language, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Lepidopterophobia Mention, M/M, Riku Loves Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku is an Anxious Mess, Romantic Fluff, Sora Loves Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Sora is a good boyfriend, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:26:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25772794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smollNerd/pseuds/smollNerd
Summary: At his age, he was far too old to be afraid of thunder. He had no reason to be. And yet, as the pouring rain slammed down on his old apartment window, he couldn’t help but hide under the covers.orRiku's plans for a late-night date go horribly awry.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	Eye of the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first fic I've written in over 10 years!  
> I'd love to keep writing more, so hopefully this one goes over well.
> 
> My how I've missed this!

### Eye of the Storm

At his age, he was far too old to be afraid of thunder. He had no reason to be. It wasn’t the lightning that scared him, and other loud noises didn’t bother him a bit. He knew the science behind the thunder – he knew it couldn’t hurt him. And yet, as the pouring rain slammed down on his old apartment window, he couldn’t help but hide under the covers. His heart raced as he laid motionless on the bed, until a particularly loud thunderclap boomed in the sky above him and made him flinch.

_If I’m still, I’m safe. It can’t see me. It can’t find me. It can’t get to me._

Of course, in his mind he knew the thunder would not be able to find him anyway, nor was it even looking for him. But these are the kind of fears you just can’t seem to shake when you’re alone beneath your duvet at two o’clock in the morning on a Thursday hiding from harmless soundwaves.

He cursed himself for leaving his cell phone on the kitchen counter. Not only had the weather decided to turn against him so suddenly during an otherwise lovely summer night, but in forgetting his phone he had no way to call for help. And by call for help, he meant blow up his boyfriend’s phone with texts like: “Thinking of you XoXo” or “Coffee tomorrow? <3” or “Look man I know it’s late but you should call me because I miss you and I want to hear your voice”. Y’know, for company. Because at his age, he was far too old to call for help over a thunderstorm. Besides, he wouldn’t dare call for help even if he wanted to (which he very much did), as Sora had no clue his boyfriend had such a childish fear. And he never would, Riku reasoned, so long as the bad weather kept its distance when Sora was with him. For now, though, texting Sora tended to be enough to keep him from crying as he cowered under his blanket.

By some miracle, it seemed as though the storm decided to leave as suddenly as it had arrived. Riku knew the blame most likely belonged to the fickle come-and-go weather system that thrives in the summer season, but in his relief, he settled on ‘miracle’. After making sure the sky had completely finished its unholy temper tantrum, he wiped what little tears he had left from his eyes, crawled out from beneath the duvet, and made a beeline for the kitchen.

_Shit, how long was I under? Must’ve been at least 30 minutes. Sora probably thinks I’m ghosting him. C’mon Riku, cowering for a whole hour? Get your shit together._

It had only been 10 minutes. Huh. He could have sworn it had been at least an hour and a half. But he supposed that was just the fear messing with his sense of time. Him? Hiding for 3 whole hours? Nonsense. It had obviously been no longer than 10 minutes.

While his fear slowly subsided, he checked his messages. Of course Sora would be spamming _Riku’s_ phone. He’d much rather it had been the other way around.

01:58 |SORA| But yeah thts the whole plot I guess

01:59 |SORA| I think it sounds pretty good plus Ill pay for popcorn n everything

02:00 |SORA| We can work out the time when I see u tmrw

02:07 |SORA| Lmao this cat looks just like u

02:07 |SORA| Sora sent an attachment!

_Well at least he doesn’t think I’m ignoring him. Leave it to Sora to be perfectly fine while I happen to be being terrorized by the very heavens abov—oh wow. That cat does look like me._

02:11 |RIKU| Sounds good to me. How do you feel about coming over now?

02:11 |SORA| Like now now

02:12 |RIKU| Like now now. I’ll meet you halfway. I have leftover pizza.

02:12 |SORA| U had me at leftover pizza

Riku let out a near-silent chuckle as he thought about how the promise of leftover anything never failed to convince Sora to come over. That guy’s stomach was a bottomless pit, always ravenous for more mediocre day-old food.

Knowing full well he didn’t even own an umbrella, he threw on a flimsy and not-at-all waterproof jacket from the side of the closet he saved for Sora’s clothes. He tended to wear a lot of Sora’s clothes, even if it did make the size difference between the two men more obvious. It just made him feel…closer? More connected? Whatever it was, he was pretty sure he had stretched out enough of his boyfriend’s clothes that they should probably just belong to him at this point. Good luck telling that to Sora, though.

02:15 |SORA| Omw <3

Riku was always the first to arrive, so he usually took his time walking the half mile distance to the usual rendezvous point halfway between Riku’s apartment and Sora’s house. However, seeing as he lacked the proper gear to be taking a leisurely stroll in the rain, he opted for a quicker approach. He knew this would likely mean even more time alone in the rain, but he didn’t mind so much. The thunder was gone and he kind of enjoyed being the first one to arrive places anyway. It both soothed his competitive urges and allowed him more time to enjoy the beautiful countryside and century-old buildings in the quaint little town that he’d come to think of as home over the past year. He only hoped it wouldn’t start storming again. He reckoned that if it did, it probably wouldn’t go over too well.

Riku was surprised when he saw his boyfriend turn the corner only a few minutes after he’d arrived. “Oh, wow! Three minutes behind me this time! That’s gotta be a new record for you.” As Riku spoke, the left corner of his lips curled ever so slightly up into an arrogant smirk. Sora replied with a sarcastic and bitter stuck-out tongue.

“No, no, I mean it!” Riku didn’t bother to stifle his laugh. “If I hadn’t run you would have beaten me here.” That seemed to amuse Sora somewhat.

“Well, you don’t exactly have an actual raincoat and trying to get you to buy an umbrella is like pulling teeth,” Sora said, looking rather pleased with himself. “So, I brought my umbrella to share. You’re welcome.”

Riku gave him a peck on the cheek as a thank you. Bringing the umbrella was a kind gesture, even if the rain had already soaked through his clothes by then. Though, he did wonder what the point of the umbrella was if Sora had planned on splashing him in every puddle they came across, effectively soaking both of them with rainwater. The journey back to Riku’s place was a several minute walk – longer if Sora wouldn’t stop jumping in puddles – but it felt like no time at all to him. Being with Sora always did make time fly by. He felt like everything they did together was a grand adventure that only ever went well. They were by far the luckiest adventurers Riku had ever seen, that was for sure.

Before they knew it, they were in Riku’s “too-cold-for-Sora” apartment taking off their wet clothes in exchange for pajamas. Riku reheated the promised pizza as Sora, having taken it upon himself to choose their activity for the night, scoured his boyfriend’s massive movie collection in search for the perfect background noise.

“So, do you plan on actually watching the movie this time? Or are you just going to fall asleep on me again?” Riku teased as he played with his boyfriend’s perpetually messy hair from behind the couch. “Or maybe,” his eyes shifted low as he leaned over the top of Sora and allowed his hands to wander away from soft hair to sensitive sides, “you had something else in mind?”

Even after knowing Sora for almost a year, Riku still couldn’t get over how much he loved making him blush. So, when his fingertips lightly grazed the sides of Sora’s torso and he asked his question, he found his heart in his throat and his brain somewhere in the stratosphere. He was weightless. The list of reasons to love Sora was infinite, but Riku rather enjoyed trying to put a number to it. Some of his favorites were: his unruly fluffy hair, the hundreds of freckles that kissed his bronze skin, his near constant smell of sunscreen that no cologne could mask, his level of clumsiness equal to his confidence, and his utterly contagious smile. To Riku, Sora was the most magical being in the universe. As he stared down at the face of the man he loved, eyes filled to the brim with desire and hands now on Sora’s thighs, he was shocked when his heart plunged deep into his stomach and his brain returned to his head.

He didn’t understand – he never felt this way when Sora was near. What was he even anxious about? The storm was over, he wouldn’t be alone if it came back, and he had the love of his life melting into the couch at his touch alone. This was supposed one of the best late nights he’s had in a while. But his muscles had tensed up as proof of the exact opposite. Sure, the rain was coming down a bit harder than before, but the storm was over. Wasn’t it? His mind raced as he tried to decipher the cause of his sudden anxiety, and he didn’t notice his nails digging into Sora’s thighs with a pressure he reserved for only the most pleasurable late-night visits.

“Ow!”

Sora’s cry of pain brought Riku out of his thoughts and back into the room.

“Riku, your nails.”

Riku quickly released his grip on his boyfriend and offered an apology. “Are you alright? I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize.”

“I’m fine,” as Sora looked into Riku’s eyes he could tell something was wrong. “I’m more worried about you. You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are _you_ alright?”

Riku’s thoughts were scattered as he tried to make sense of the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to tell Sora how he was feeling, but no doubt he wouldn’t understand. Sora was always so optimistic and brave – never afraid of anything.

“I’m okay,” he finally answered, eyes darting around the room in search for the threat. He knew Sora had begun talking again, and that he had a thick air of concern in his voice, but he wasn’t sure what he said. All the sound in the room had become muffled in his ears, and his eyes had focused on the window next to the television across from him. A flash of light outside the window confirmed what he had feared. But why was he so afraid? He didn’t understand. He had been in this situation a few times before, and Sora’s presence always calmed him down enough to the point where he was just slightly more aware of his surroundings than if he was by himself. This was different, though. It was like Sora wasn’t even there, and he was once again alone with his thoughts in his old outdated apartment.

_Shit. Shit shit shit. Not now. Please, not now._

Another flash, but no boom. Was it just heat lightning? Could he take that chance? He couldn’t break down now, not in front of Sora. He had to be brave.

_It’s okay. Sora’s here. You need to be brave for him. Do it for him. Be brave for Sora._

_Sora._

_Sora._

“Sora, pizza’s on the counter but you should wait to eat it until it’s cooled down some. You can start the movie too, I’ve seen this one a million times, so I don’t mind missing the beginning,” he said, putting all he had into sounding calm and collected, like he wasn’t about to break down. It was far from a confident act, but Sora seemed to buy it. The smile he gave Riku calmed him down a bit, but only for a second, as he walked just a tad faster than usual to the bathroom.

He made it not a moment too soon. The first rumble sounded low and distant, almost as if it were warning Riku of what was to come. The sudden boom that immediately followed, though, was noticeably closer and much more violent. The moment he half-slammed the door he fell to the freezing tiles of the bathroom floor, his back against the door and his knees brought up tight against his chest. In the brief seconds between the last thunderclap and the next, he had hurriedly made his way from the door to the bathtub, somewhat aggressively tearing down the shower curtain and draping it over his body as he shifted to his side and curled his legs up as much as he could.

_This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. This isn’t right. Sora’s here. Why am I acting like this?_

His heart once again jumped into his throat, but this time it was accompanied not by a feeling of weightlessness, but a heavy dread. His chin began to quiver and that pesky heart in his throat made him far more choked up than he’d like to be. A short, silent gasp accompanied by a roll of thunder directly above the house acted as the catalyst for the inevitable. When the dam broke, there was no stopping it. A steady stream of tears fell from his eyes, dripping from his cheek and into the porcelain floor of the bathtub. Soft sobs escaped his lips and he promised himself he’d have his breakdown as quietly as possible so as to not alert his boyfriend in the other room. His efforts were in vain, however, because in his haste to get to the bathtub Riku hadn’t noticed the clamor he was making while tearing down the shower curtain.

**_Knock knock knock_ **

Silence.

“’Ku, baby, you okay?” Sora called through the door, the concern in his voice almost deafening.

Riku hated this. He hated hearing Sora so worked up over him and he hated his inability to assure him he was alright.

“I heard a crash and I need to know if you’re okay.”

_I’m not._

“I’m coming in.”

Sora’s caution when he opened the door was far too similar to that first warning-rumble of thunder for Riku’s taste, and he found himself flinching ever so slightly at the sound. And much like the thunder, the dull creak of the door was immediately followed by a loud _slam!_ as Sora hurled the door wide open upon seeing the mess his boyfriend had created. He dashed across the room straight to the bathtub that Riku had turned into his fortress of protection. As Sora ripped the shower curtain off of him, Riku’s tears flowed even harder than before, and he could no longer restrain his quiet sobs. Sora was here. He should have felt safer than ever. But knowing all his efforts to keep Sora from seeing him like this were unsuccessful sent him over the edge, and he began full-on bawling.

“Riku! Riku what happened?! Are you hurt? Why are you crying?”

“I’m fine, please go.”

_I’m not. Please stay._

“You’re obviously not okay, you’re crying in the bathtub with a shower curtain over your head. Please look at me and talk to me,” Sora replied. Riku could tell he was trying to remain levelheaded and as calm for Riku as he possibly could, but the worry in his voice permeated every word he spoke. Riku still couldn’t bring himself to look at him.

“It’s stupid. Just go enjoy the movie and I’ll be out in a bit.”

 _It_ is _stupid. But fuck the movie, hold me. Stay with me._

Sora sighed and Riku figured he probably rolled his eyes as well.

“Riku, whatever it is it’s apparently enough to make you cry like this, and that’s the farthest thing from stupid I can think of,” Sora said, stroking Riku’s hair with a sweet tenderness that always came naturally to him. He let out a breathy chuckle as he asked, “How do you expect me to enjoy a movie without y—” **_BOOM!_**

Sora was interrupted by the combined deafening outcry of both Riku and the storm outside. Now, crying even harder than before, Sora was beginning to understand. He had never seen Riku cry, let alone wail in the way he was. His eyes began to empathize with Riku, and let out a few small droplets of their own before Sora finally spoke, “Riku, are you…afraid of the storm?”

_Please don’t ask me that. Anything else but that._

When Riku didn’t reply, Sora sighed again and attempted to shift Riku in the tub enough to slide in with him. He gingerly positioned the both of them so that Sora was leaned up against the wall of the tub and Riku was laying in front of him on Sora’s lap with his head in his chest. He reached over the edge of the tub to grab the discarded shower curtain. He covered both of them with it, tucking in the sides the same way one would tuck a child in for bed.

The addition of Sora to his little hideaway soothed Riku a bit. His bawling became quieter and quieter with each stroke of Sora’s hand on his back and kiss on his head until it was as it was when he first began – soft, quiet sobs and sniffles. Another rumble travelled across the sky. It seemed to be getting farther and farther away. Riku hated these summer storms, but he found comfort in the fact that they never lasted too long. He let out a sob that was marginally louder than the others as the thunder reached his ears.

“So…it’s the thunder, huh?” Sora asked in the gentlest tone he could manage. Riku nodded his head with hesitation and let out another sniffle.

“Well, why didn’t you tell me sooner? And why were you under the shower curtain?”

Sora finding out about his nonsensical fear was something Riku never wanted to happen, but he supposed it was probably impractical to assume he’d never find out. What would have happened when they moved in together? Or if they got married? Surely Sora would have found out eventually. He only wished it didn’t happen like this.

“I’m sorry…. I didn’t want you to know. It’s such a silly thing to be afraid of and I didn’t want you to think less of me for it,” Riku explained between sniffles. He elected to ignore Sora’s second question. The last thing he wanted to do right now was attempt to explain his theory that the thunder was out to get him. He’d save that for some other time. Maybe. He had his arms wrapped around his boyfriend’s waist so he could squeeze him anytime the thunder rolled over their heads. The chain of little kisses he was receiving on his head was broken when Sora stopped to speak.

“I would never think less of you. Everyone has something they’re afraid of, even ‘silly’ things like thunder…or even moths,” Sora chuckled.

Riku shifted his head so that he was looking up at the tender face of his love, and he couldn’t suppress a small smile from appearing on his face. “Moths?”

Sora’s quiet chuckle turned into a laugh. “Yeah dude, moths terrify me! I guess you wouldn’t have known since we’ve never really been together when I’ve seen one. But every time a moth gets anywhere near me, I scream and run in the opposite direction or do what I can to avoid it. It’s happened a couple of times on my way to meet you, it’s one of the reasons I’ve been late before.”

So, Sora was afraid of moths. Huh. Riku wondered how he’d never thought to ask him about his fears, but now that he thought about it, Sora had never bothered to ask about his before either. Knowing he wasn’t alone made him feel a little bit better, so he was thankful for Sora’s confession. Regardless, the storm was still raging on outside and Riku was still at the mercy of his own mind.

“We’ve been together during storms like this before and I’ve never seen you afraid. Is there something else going on?”

Riku still couldn’t wrap his head around why he was panicking now, when he had always been alright when Sora was there. Was his love for him fading? No, that’s not it. He’d never felt closer. So what was it?

“I don’t know, I can’t figure out what’s different this time….”

_Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. He’s going to think it’s his fault. He’s going to think I don’t love him. He’s going to think…fuck._

Sora thought for a moment, all the while Riku going over possible disaster scenarios in his head. The silence felt like ages. What was Sora thinking about? Would he be angry? Would he leave him…?

“Oh!” Sora jumped a little like he usually did when he had an idea. The sudden movement startled Riku, and Sora apologized and kissed his forehead. “Do you think maybe you’re extra scared because of the storm earlier?”

_Of course! Stupid, Riku!_

It was so obvious, Riku wondered why he hadn’t thought of it before. Two storms in one night and the second one had come out of nowhere. He made a mental note to check his weather app more often as he turned his face to meet Sora’s.

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Riku said, his voice laden with guilt. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you to come over. I ruined our night together. I should have known it would storm again.”

“Now don’t you go saying things like that, Riku,” Sora spoke with a firmness that Riku had only heard a few times before. “If you ruined our night would I be holding you in a bathtub? I’m happy to be here, and I’m happy to be holding you. I want to be the one you call to for help and can trust to be there for you when things get rough. I know you like to do things on your own. I know you don’t wanna bother me with your problems, but I want you to. I want to be bothered. I want to help you. Riku, I love you and I will always be there for you, you just gotta let me. Okay?”

The tears had stopped falling so freely from his eyes as they had been just a few minutes prior, but they returned in almost full force as he heard his boyfriend speak. This time, however, they were not out of fear, but of love. He smiled into Sora’s chest and mumbled a quick “okay” and closed his eyes. His head rose and fell with each breath Sora took, and he eventually felt the warm embrace of sleep begin to envelop him.

“You want me to hold you until the storm passes?”

Riku nodded his head.

“You want to go back to the living room? Or the bedroom maybe?”

_No._

After a few moments of silence, Sora got the hint. He didn’t press the issue any further. Instead, he gave Riku a gentle squeeze around his torso and pressed his lips as against his long silver hair.

“I love you.”

_I love you too, Sora._

As he drifted off to sleep, he listened for Sora’s heartbeat to remind him he was still there in his arms. When he found it, he could’ve sworn he heard the most beautiful song.


End file.
